Cal’s lead dwindles to two shots at Pac-12 golf championship

Cal’s stampede toward a slice of college golf history hit a speed bump today in Los Angeles.

The Bears, ranked No. 1 in the nation, started the day with a nine-shot lead in the Pac-12 men’s championship. But UCLA, ranked No. 3 by Golfstat, chopped Cal’s edge to two strokes heading into Wednesday’s final round.

No other teams are remotely close: Cal is 6-over-par through three rounds, with UCLA at 8-over and Washington at 28-over. Stanford sits in fifth place at 42-over.

The Bears are trying to match the unofficial NCAA record of 10 tournament victories, set by Oklahoma State in 1985-86. Cal has won nine times in 11 starts in 2012-13, giving coach Steve Desimone’s team three chances — Pac-12s, NCAA regionals and the NCAA championship — to match or surpass OSU.

Cal’s Max Homa, who set a course record Monday by shooting 61 at Los Angeles Country Club, posted 1-over-par 71 today. Homa leads the individual competition by five strokes, over UCLA freshman Jonathan Garrick (from Atherton and St. Francis High-Mountain View).

Cal’s Michael Weaver is tied for third, with Stanford’s Cameron Wilson tied for seventh and teammate Patrick Rodgers in 10th.